1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to envelope tracking power supplies, and particularly but not exclusively to envelope tracking power supplies for radio frequency (RF) amplifiers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Envelope tracking power supplies are well-known in the art. The principle behind such power supplies is that the supply voltage delivered to an amplifier tracks the input signal to be amplified by the amplifier, such that the supply voltage is at a level sufficient to amplify the instantaneous input signal. In this way, the power supply to the power amplifier does not need to be maintained at a level which corresponds to the peak input signal, but can track the input signal to provide an efficient supply voltage which improves the overall efficiency of the amplifier. A particularly advantageous technique for providing an envelope tracking voltage supply is disclosed by Nujira Limited in UK Patent No. 2398648.
Power amplifiers, such as RF power amplifiers, require a network through which the DC supply voltage is fed to the active element of the amplifier. In a simple arrangement this may comprise an inductor, choke, or other passive network, which is designed to provide a low impedance at DC but which represents a high impedance at the RF operating frequency. Alternatively, the supply feed network may also form part of the RF matching network at the amplifier output.
Prior art techniques implemented in efficient envelope tracking power supplies are adapted to minimise the misalignment of the power supply delivered to the amplifier and the input signal to be amplified, with the intention that the instantaneous voltage supply is based on the instantaneous input signal to be amplified.
However, the presence of the supply feed network causes errors in the supply voltage presented to the active device of the amplifier itself. Thus whilst the voltage supply delivered to a terminal or node of the amplifier may be correctly aligned with the input signal to be amplified, the supply feed network results in this signal being misaligned at the point it is delivered to the active device of the amplifier. These errors become more pronounced as the supply feed inductance increases. At each instant in time, the active device is thus not working at its intended operating point and this degrades the RF output spectrum and other metrics of transmission quality.
It is an aim of the invention to provide an improvement in an envelope tracking power supply, which addresses the above-stated problem.